Marco Farfan leads the way from Portland Timbers academy to first team

It was just one moment in an early preseason game against the New York Red Bulls in Tucson, Arizona, but the poise and confidence that Marco Farfan displayed was telling.

The 18-year-old Portland Timbers left back cut the ball back before spotting his opening. He skillfully nutmegged his defender, nearly sending the opposing player to the ground, then drove up the center of the pitch and placed a pinpoint pass into the box for Augustine Williams.

"He doesn't look in awe," Timbers coach Caleb Porter said. "For a lot of young players, that's the biggest hurdle they have to get over, the mental side of going from being a youth player to a first team player. He's a guy that isn't shying away from it."

The Timbers made the seminal decision to sign Farfan as a homegrown player last October. Farfan, a Portland native and Centennial High School senior, became the club's youngest-ever signee and the first Timbers academy product to earn a contract with the first team. It was a pivotal moment for the club, which has been consistently increasing its investment in its academy system since founding the program in 2012 with the intention of building an effective structure to develop top youth players.

In Farfan, the Timbers believe they have found a player that could make a real impact with the first team in the long-term. It's a sign that their investment in the academy might finally be paying off.

"The academy was where I really realized what a professional environment looks like," Farfan said. "Playing in that environment really helped me get to this point... Now, I just have to keep working hard and have confidence in myself because I'm just another player."

Farfan was introduced to soccer at an early age by his father and brother.

The family would spend afternoons kicking the ball around outside their home on the border between Southeast Portland and Gresham. On long summer days, they would invite over their close-knit extended family for barbecues and Farfan's uncles and cousins would join in for games of 3v3 in the backyard.

But Farfan, a lifelong Timbers fan, really fell in love with the sport as a 10-year-old when he started watching his brother, Roberto, compete for the Timbers U-23 Premier Development League side. For four seasons, Farfan was a constant presence in the stands at his brother's Timbers U-23 games, and the family would often drive down to Corvallis in the fall to watch Roberto compete for Oregon State University.

"Just growing up watching my brother, I wanted to be like him," Farfan said. "Ever since I started watching him, my goal was to become a professional soccer player."

Farfan grew up playing competitive soccer with the Eastside Timbers, one of the best club teams for top youth soccer players in Oregon.

But in 2012, the Timbers started their developmental academy program with the aim of ultimately creating a pipeline into the first team.

It was a turning point for Farfan.

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Farfan, who earned a spot on the Timbers U-16 Academy Team in 2013, thrived in the new environment.

While his skill on the field stood out, it was Farfan's discipline and maturity that most impressed then-Timbers U-16 Academy coach Andrew Gregor. Early in his academy career, Gregor made the decision to convert Farfan from a midfielder to a left back, believing that the naturally athletic and left-footed teenager would be well-suited to the position. Farfan put in the extra work to quickly adapt to the new role.

Over his three seasons with the academy, Farfan competed for both the U-16 and U-18 teams and was named to the USSDA Best XI for the Western Conference with the U-18 team in the 2015-16 season.

"Not only is he a good player, but he has the right habits as well," Gregor said. "He's very disciplined about taking care of himself on and off the field. If it's something technically or tactically he needs to work on, he works on it, he does it right, he puts in the extra time."

When Gregor took over as head coach last season for T2, the Timbers USL team, he made the calculated decision to give Farfan his first opportunity at the pro level.

It was initially a tough adjustment for Farfan, but he improved quickly and soon showed he could more than hold his own in USL. He made 18 starts for T2 in 2016 and was named No. 7 on the USL 20 Under 20 rankings, the only academy player to make the list.

"When he got the opportunity with T2, now playing with professional players, he rose to that level," Porter said. "Now, this is the next jump, and it's a big jump. He has to show he can do it at the first team level."

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Farfan's signing is an initial success for a Timbers academy program that is working to prove that it can be an effective and consistent pipeline to the first team.

The Timbers academy system is relatively new in comparison to other academies throughout Major League Soccer and before inking Farfan to a contract, the Timbers had signed just three other homegrown players in Brent Richards, Steven Evans and Michael Seaton, none of whom were developed in the Timbers academy. Those three players are no longer with the organization and none of the three ever made a substantial impact with the first team.

Since 2014, the Timbers have founded T2 as an important developmental rung in their ladder to the first team, brought in an experienced youth technical director in Larry Sunderland, increased their emphasis on scouting youth players and added a U-14 academy team to go along with their U-16 and U-18 teams. They are continuing to evaluate the academy program and make improvements to promote the development of stronger youth players.

"I still think we haven't caught up on the academy," Timbers general manager and president of soccer Gavin Wilkinson said. "I still think we'll be improving the facilities. We'll be increasing the resources. But I think we've taken major strides."

While Farfan still has a long way to go to become a contributor with the first team, his signing bodes well for the future of the Timbers youth development system and is an indication that the club's increased investment in the academy is making an impact.

"I think what they have going now, it's going to help a lot of kids," said Roberto Farfan, who didn't have the option of competing for an academy team during his youth "Playing a lot of competitive games in the academy, slowly getting exposed to the professional level with T2 and being around that environment definitely helped Marco."

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At 18, Farfan is still four months away from earning a high school diploma and will be heading to Centennial High School after Timbers training every day this spring to finish a final requirement in English.

But when the Timbers opened preseason training camp in Tuscon, Arizona in January, Farfan was very much in his element, competing on the field against some seasoned professionals more than a decade older.

While Farfan will have to continue to prove himself, Porter plans on giving the youngest player on his roster an opportunity to compete for minutes this year. The Portland native enters his first MLS season as No. 2 in the depth chart at left back behind Lithuanian defender Vytas.

"It's a long process still for a player like Marco," Porter said. "But I do think that he's a guy that gets that. He gets that there's a lot of hard work still to put in. He gets that he has to prove himself every day."